I Bought It Files: Pade Vavra Cat Stud Earrings, Other Stuff I'm Wearing In A Weddng This Weekend

($138, Pade Vavre, BlueLuxe.com)

Oops. Accidentally bought these: 22KT gold plated cat stud earrings with sapphire eyeballs. I may or may not wear them to the wedding I'm in this weekend. I WILL not, however, wear them with THIS belt, if I wear it at/ in the wedding:

($136, Moss Mills)

I got it on sale at Epaulet. (Remember when I was losing my mind over this Moss Mills horse bracelet? And, speaking of horses, RIP TRAGIC FLORIDA HORSES!)

BTW, the dress I'm wearing in the wedding is...
... A Christiane Celle fuchsia satin dress -- the bride found it for me on eBay for a song! Can you BELIEVE how great that is! I actually factually WILL wear this again. And I'm wearing these vintage gold heels from Olive's Very Vintage in Brooklyn -- Gorgeous, perfectly curated and preserved dresses, skirts, tops, shoes and jewelry. Definitely vintage and not thrift. you should go. It's great.


That's new kitty, Sim. I adopted her from Beauty Blogging Junkie's Amber! BTW, this completely out-of-sequence, highly unedited post brought to you by Gruner Veltliner!1!!

The Archive Unveiled

A selection from the Raf Archive over on oki-ni.

Back on April 1st we gave you the exclusive news that oki-ni were preparing to launch their Archive feature and we have now been told (along with the fashionisto it seems) that it will be live this Thursday. We do however have a preview link and the archive is better than we imagined it would be!

Exquisite tailoring up close from Autumn/Winter 05/06

Raf Simons provides the first archive installment with pieces spanning from his initial mid 90s collections to the present day. Simons is undeniably one of the great innovators of contemporary men's fashion so what a great place to start! His clothes, typically characterised by a sharp and linear silhouette, have combined traditional tailoring with rebel youth outfits from all ages and have ultimately redefined menswear along the way. The archive showcases key pieces throughout and provides a real insight into what the online store feels were his most important collections. These garments are from a personal collection (could we be more jealous?), as time goes on the product matures in style and tastes and preference change all of which is shown in this feature.

A close up of the Alien Hood from Autumn/Winter 06/07

In launching this feature on oki-ni wanted to offer customers a chance to explore labels and genres a little further than just their current collections whilst giving an opportunity to find out more about the designer’s history in product. After spending much of the afternoon salivating over the wonderful back catalogue of Simons' designs we certainly think the online store has succeeded.

One of my favourite pieces is this navy bungee chord jacket from Spring/Summer 08

If you are wondering why the eyes of the model are covered it is because oki-ni wanted this section to focus entirely on the product and not an identity. There are sixty plus pieces featured but they will expand on this - as there is plenty more from where this came from. Just imagine owning such a collection? We can but dream.

In Deep Water with Makin Jan Ma

We spoke to Makin Jan Ma earlier this year to discuss his unique approach to menswear and looked at his SS09 collection 'You are my milky way'. For his sixth season the Central Saint Martins graduate returns from outer space and this time takes us on a journey to the deep sea. Makin finds inspiration in creating films, photography, fashion, illustration and poetic words and everything comes together quite beautifully for this collection and I believe this to be his strongest offering yet!

When I first came across these images over on The Fashionisto the set design made me instantly think of Gondry's marvellous The Science of Sleep and creating a desire to play around with clear plastic wrappers so I can travel off on my own imaginary journey.

His Aw09 collection titled 'Give Me Some Deep Water' provides some much needed style to a castaway as sharply cut suits are offered as well as over sized, draped and knotted fabrics. This collection’s script undoubtedly inspires an interesting combination of shapes and patterns.

Oversize outerwear with something of a nomadic feel is combined wonderful with fabrics that drape in all the right places. Makin is known for his prints and this collection features an ocean print sea map print filled with Makin's own imaginary islands. After testing the water with these images I'm certainly game to dive right in but before I do I might reach for a Gondry dvd, how about you?

Resistance is futile to the wonders of Japan

Resistance's Short coat with tartan button detailing

We frequently mention how we peer through the glass and look on in amazement and wonder at the goings on in Japan and we certainly aren't alone in our voyeurism. I am yet to explore the country (but plan on doing so sometime this year) so to get my fix of Japanese pop culture I often spend an afternoon and a fair bit of money at the Japan Centre flicking through the magazines and stocking up on a number of snack offerings. Ramdane Touhani was fortunate enough to work in Japan and was inspired by working cloth, casual cloth, bosozuko dress codes and military uniforms. A few years later, his label Resistance was born. The label uses unconventional proportions, sizes and fabrics; crossed by political words and revolutionary symbols whilst interpreting menswear staples pieces.

Animal Print Spring Courts and Half contrast shirt

The label has been added to the ever growing list of brands over on oki-ni and the highlight of the offering is this short coat with tartan button detailing. The navy double breasted jacket's construction is really simple and sharp; a military collar, back vent and soft shoulder but the tartan buttons really make me drool. The jacket has inspired me to take a trip to MacCulloch & Wallis and see if I can find something similar to breathe new life in to an old jacket or two. The half contrast shirt and the animal Print Spring Courts provide further illustrations on how this brand adds a few design features to wardrobe staples.

A surprising supplement to a Sunday morning

My idea of a perfect Sunday morning would always include a strong pot of coffee, a few slices of farmhouse loaf, a jar of marmalade and a selection of broadsheets. During the rest of the week the Internet satisfies any desire I have to catch up with what's what across the globe but Sunday requires a more traditional fix. This week, I may not have had any fresh bread in the flat, nor coffee but I was able to digest the Observer and the men's fashion supplement by Tank more than made up for anything else which was lacking. I was planning on giving the papers a miss today because of a football result I'd rather not remind myself off but thanks to Daniel Jenkins for dropping me a text to let me know that there was a damn good reason to pick up a copy.

The eighty page supplemented is a men's fashion special and features an interview with Dries Van Noten a piece on how the recession is forcing a return to masculinity (more on this in a later post) a selection of buyer's choices for the season and so much more. This really is one of the strongest supplements that I can remember picking up and it certainly caused Susie to turn a shade of green as she looked on enviously at the coverage afforded to men's fashion.

A life in the wardrobe of...Chris Moore

The feature that I just had to mention was 'A life in the wardrobe of...Chris Moore' because it is the type of thing I lap up but unfortunately it is hard to come by. The final page of the supplement is dedicated to a look inside the wardrobe of Chris Moore, a man widely known as 'the King of the Catwalk.' Moore has been photographing fashion shows for over forty years and runs his own agency, catwalking.com (providing much of the blogging fraternity with a look at the action before anyone else) but what does he choose to wear? The feature sees the renowned photographer pick out five of his favourite pieces including, an Aran jumper, a Comme des Garcons jacket, a Christian Dior suit (Hedi era), a Margaret Howell jacket and jeans by Helmut Lang. Moore introduces each item and provides a little background on how he came across each item as well as a little insight in to how the piece fits in to his everyday style. He was fortunate enough to blag himself the Margaret Howell jacket whilst shooting the collection and after they gave it to him he has rarely taken it off. "And they gave it to me. That was a year ago and I've worn it almost every day. It's terribly important that I try not to be overdressed or flamboyant because I feel that a photographer in my type of work should be invisible." As you can tell from our very own 'Style Stalking' feature we love to hear about an individuals everyday style but the 'A life in the wardrobe of...' piece provides a level of personal analysis and insight that I'd love to replicate on the blog...so this feature might well be repackaged in the coming weeks. The art of wardrobe building is an evolving process and it would be great to sneak a peek at a number of individuals' sartorial journey.

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ADORBS ALERT: Tibi Women's Tango Silk One Shoulder Top

($160, Tibi, Bloomingdales)

SO cute with skinny jeans and maybe a tiny cropped grey jacket, nu?